March 11, 2012

Feeling and wondering about things I should and do and say for my exhibition opening on the first anniversary of the quake, I wonder if there can be a place too for what Matisse was doing during the depth of the horror of the world's worst war, flowers and odalisque nudes.


Girl with a Fur Coat, Yellow Background
73 x 60 cm.
Private Collection
1944

My next Exhibition opens March 11

I was just listening to the NYTimes book review podcast extolling the merits of a great modern German artist, how he made us uncomfortable - to examine our society, that is the job of an artist. I guess it is defined so these days. Was Divinci's job to make us uncomfortable? Was van Gogh's job to make us uncomfortable, or Cezanne, or Giotto, or Hokusai? Is that why they are great? It is interesting that art is now defined by the critics as taking over the job of social and moral criticism. Art is supposed to challenge our views and ourselves, make us question.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I have an exhibition opening 3/11, the day of the quake and Fukushima disaster that the Japanese government and media and industry has worked so hard to cover up. Still lies, mixed with Japanese children peeing cesium, people being encouraged to live in the contaminated areas, lies about where and what is contaminated, reports that it is all under control when there is no actual way to look at or even monitor what is going inside the run away reactors yet, computer simulations about what the government wants to believe is happening, and forming policy on these simulations.

Plenty of things to be up in arms about.

But then I open my facebook and there is this guy Bill who always has some big print messages about the republicans. And even though I agree with the big print things, it is annoying to have to read them as I scroll down. Didactic and social critique, where do they fit?

I like Ben Shan. And he is having a nice retrospective in Tokyo, probably brought on by his anti-nuke stuff from the 60's.

The gallery directors choose as a invitation card immage a little design I made for an anti-nuke tee shirt, for one of the first no nukes protest last spring. Hard to make it work as a piece of art for me though.

Fuji mi zaka The last Fuji View

I had an exhibition some years ago called Blue Fuji that was made when our view of Fuji was cut in half.  There is a lot of fuss this year in my part of town as it turns out we host the last "Fuji Mi Zaka" in Tokyo with an actual Fuji view.  There are places all over town called, "Fuji Mi...  this and that.  But they are all a lie as there are no longer views in these places to support them.

We are the last one and this year we too will become a lie.  A building is going up to block our view too.  Fuji-San was once a living god in Japan.  In my neighborhood the older folks, some of them, still pause and bow at the top of Fuji-Mi-Zaka.  Perhaps next year the still will.  But there will be no Fuji for them to view.

Fuji-San was a god, but now it seems completely replaced by the more contemporary deity - cash.  Bigger, taller, cheaper, faster.  It is an international god these days.  But somehow I can not see the people of Prague allowing development that would destroy the equivalent of their last Fuji view.  In Ottawa, the Canadian capital city, no construction is allowed to obstruct the view of the Parliament building and the Peace Tower.

Red Fuji Back

Some people in Tokyo take a more modern view and pint out that there are still plenty of nice Fuji views up in the new tall buildings, for people that can afforded them.  Who would expect lowly people walking on the ground to enjoy such a privilege in these capital days?

my next exhibition

Yesterday we decided.  I will have an exhibition in about 40 day at Gallery CN in Fujisawa, Japan. http://gallery-cn.sakura.ne.jp/about.english.html


Noah built his arc in 40 days and gathered all the animals too.  Making an exhibition should be a snap.

It is will open on the one year anniversary of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, baring acts of nature or god to prevent it.

The working title is Sun, Water and Wind.

kids teaching

Yesterday I did a workshop at one of my universities, teaching very young children to paint with sumi ink.  It was an introduction to the medium.  For most it was a first chance to experience ink, and washi.   What is the smell of sumi ink?  How does it move on the paper?  How does ink feel?  How does it taste?  Of course they taught me many things.

One kid tired of using the rolled paper brush he was given and started painting with the big old rock that was supposed to be his paper weight.  My first time to see someone paint with a rock.  Kids are unique in our modern era of specialization.  They are scientists discovering the world, and natural artist sharing their vision with the world.  They are little Divincis walking among us.

Of course it did not take long for some to abandon other tools for the more basic hands and feet.

One judge of success, every painting was different, as the individual person that creating it.

great leap forward

Today I have a day in the studio.  My first etching sprint is done.  I got the machine about a month ago I think, and set it up on my main downstairs working table, the table I use for making scrolls and frames and even banjos.  The press had the table for a month.  Last weekend I had precious little time, teaching all day Saturday and everybody coming at me on Sunday, art buyers, friends and family knocking on doors, creeping around the windows, scratching at the sides of the house.  But I muscled out one last print, as I knew it was the end of my sprint, my first burst of etching energy.  Now today  I must change the room over to other things, year end paper working and the like.  It is time to pick things up, put them into some form of order, in boxes, jars, and the like.

I will still be able to etch, but in moderation, not letting it take over the whole studio as it has been for a month.  It is the end of my first great leap forward.  Got half a dozen, maybe a dozen if you count all, more than that with all the wrong turns and and dopey starts, and maybe 2 or 3 good ones.

occupy

I was surprised to see the occupy tent in Kasumi-gaseki, right on the corner of the METI building.

They looked like serious people.  Most signs in Japanese.  One in English that caught my eye about Urban Elitism, sacrificing the rural areas for the cities.  It must be pretty frustration in the countryside these days, especially up in Tohoku, blasted by a terrible Tsunami and then and still peppered with radioactive poison that will stay 2oo plus years.  In a way it is worse that the old Roman trick of destroying a chit and then salting the land.

Folks in Tokyo will be enjoying a string of Bon-en-kai, Year end parties.  Up in Tohoku I expect it will not be a cheery this dark season.

I found the Occupy movement in Japan have a facebook page in addition to a web site.